Chapter Eighteen: Mennix Part I

After a horrifying dream consumed Annastaria in the middle of the Rueldof, she awakens in the small town of Mennix, her destination. As she awakes, she meets a mysterious man named Gerdan, who along with his men, helped save her and her friends, bringing them to town for the night, and allowing them to stay for free. There, Gerdan and his people offer their best hospitality, allowing the group to rest for the evening, but Annastaria knows that in spite of its appearance, there is something lurking in the shadows and forests surrounding Mennix, and it perhaps grabbed hold of her…

Annastaria awoke slowly, in darkness, awakened mostly by a noise somewhere nearby. It took a few seconds for her to know that she was even awake, and after that, that she was not where she last remembered herself to be. She gasped as she stood up out of the bed she was in, and took in the dark room. To her right was a window, but no sun to give light. The only light she had was a kerosene lamp, but with an electric, yellow-tinted light in it, dimly illuminating the room; it sat on a wooden chair in the far left corner from where she lay. To her left was a door that was closed, but light coming from underneath it, and the faint, muffled sounds of voices and commotion, or a kitchen of some kind.

Memories began to piece themselves together. She was last outside, and there was still a dimming sunlight in the west–and she was with Oden, Rolek and Bastillina, on a hill just as dusk was settling in, looking down to Mennix. She also realized that she was not wearing her body armor, nor her hair tie. Her feet were cold–even her boots were removed. She began to dread the idea that maybe more clothing had been removed that she didn’t even know about. 

But her mind raced to Bastillina’s whereabouts, who seemed nowhere to be found, and then to the strange vision she saw before she fell unconscious. Was it a vision, or was it real? Before she could think any farther, the door came open, letting in the loudness from outside, and blasting away the silence she was in. She turned to the door and saw a man walk in, carrying a metal bucket in his hand. He stopped as soon as he saw her, “Oh.” he said, “You’re awake.”

Annastaria turned out of the bed to square with him, “Who are you?” she demanded.

He set the bucket down, which sounded as thought to have water in it, and put his hands up slightly, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.” He then placed a hand on his chest, “My name is Gerdan.” 

Annastaria noticed his Oenian accent; he must have been a local. But she was not convinced to let her guard down by his introduction; she looked at the bucket then. “What is that for?” she asked further.

“The bucket? It’s just cold water, nothing more, nothing less, and a rag. You were burning up while you were sleeping.” There was irony in his statement that Annastaria recalled in the dream she had as her eyes drifted away to the lamp in the far left corner to ponder. He had no idea just how much she was burning up in the vision. “May I come in?” he asked. Annastaria looked at him again, and he wasn’t sure if it was a good look or a bad one. “I just want to place this bucket in the room for you.” he continued, “I was gonna check on your fever, as I have been, but if you’re awake, I’m sure you can do that yourself.”

“I am fine.” she quickly corrected, “Only… I am just not completely clear in my mind, is all.”

“That’s good. I mean, not good that you’re a little dizzy, but that’s normal. You were quite out of it for a while back there.”

Annastaria began to realize that at least up to the point that she blacked out, it was all real. She just didn’t know what was happening before that. “Where am I?” she asked, “And where are my things? And where is the little girl that was with me?”

Gerdan pointed to a chair next to the one with the lamp on it, “You’re in Mennix. Your shoes, backpack and body armor are over there for you. And your friends, including the girl, are all here. The girl, however, is sleeping; she’s very tired. If I may say, she’s tired from constantly watching over you. I finally convinced her to go to bed, and wait in the morning for you. She’s in the room just next to this one. The other two gentlemen you came with are downstairs. You may want to go down there and let them know you’re okay.” 

Annastaria paused, absorbing the information given by this man. Once he finished, he took his leave, allowing Annastaria to gather her thoughts.

Among all the unsettling thoughts, she had the sinking thought that someone, likely Rolek, went through her backpack and took the artifact, or that even Oden did, or that they went through it at all. She jumped from the bed and to her things, scrambling through it, finding everything, including the artifact in its place, still within her backpack. 

But as her heart and mind began to cool, she realized she was searching her backpack with two bare arms. She saw the enchantments on her right arm, and her right hand. Someone removed her sleeve and glove. Gerdan didn’t appear alarmed by it, and surely he saw her bare right arm. What about the others? There was only one way to find out, and that meant she would have to endure the unyielding commotion outside the room.

She put her boots on, and opened the door, being immediately rushed by the loudness of the men somewhere below her, and the light coming from the main floor. To the left and right were more rooms, and just a few feet ahead of her was a balcony railing made entirely of smoothened wood. She looked over the railing to a large inn floor below that was as full as an inn restaurant floor could be. 

Opposite to her, on the second floor, were more rooms. On the inn floor, to Annastaria’s left was the main entrance, which was two wooden doors. To her right, opposite the door, was a U-shaped bar counter, and an impressive rack of alcoholic beverages behind it. Behind that wall was likely the kitchen. On the wall opposite Annastaria, on the inn floor, was a large fireplace that gave considerable light to the whole room, and to the left of it, a small stadium where a kamorjien violinist played music that matched the energy of the people.

Most of the lighting came from the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The roof had a pointed arch down the center from the door to the back, and the walls were decorated with Oenian shields and war artifacts. It had an old-world theme to it, which strangely dazzled Annastaria. The commotion on the inn floor was so chaotic, that there were not even tables organized properly. It appeared as though the tables were moved around to the liking of the patrons, who themselves, though mostly men from the backwood parts of Oenkev, did not appear to be unfriendly. There were some kamorjien among the crowds, and of course dwarves, but most were aenmen–and there were also many women, laughing and joking with the men as well.

It was like an entire city crammed into a small building. Oden and Rolek were supposed to be among this crowd, but she had a hard time even focusing on finding them. She took a few careful looks around the bar and caught Oden with her wandering eye, sitting and talking casually with some men she did not recognize. Now for finding Rolek. A large burst of laughter came from somewhere to the left, towards the door, drawing Annastaria’s eyes to it, and there, in a group of gathered tables filled with patrons, she spotted Rolek in their midst, laughing and playing a card game with them. He was fitting right in with this crowd. Somehow, Annastaria couldn’t help but smile at it. But she found her two persons of interest; it was time to go down and talk to them.

She walked to the left, where there was a staircase she saw people coming up and down from, and went towards them to walk down, and passed one or two people, most of which stared at her more than someone ought to. It made her stiff, but she pressed on, as none of them did anything but stare in silence. She came to the floor, and it seemed as though the obscenity got even worse. She could smell the alcohol, and some other not-very-pleasant smells. She did her best to move past patrons sitting and moving, as well as waiters and waitresses carrying food, drinks, trays both full and empty, and she tried her best not to touch any of them until she managed to weave her way to Rolek, who spotted her just a few feet before she got to him.

He was in the middle of joking laughter as he saw her, and once he did, he threw his arms up and said aloud with a cigar in his mouth, “Ah! There she is! The elf-lady of the hour!” The others looked as Rolek deliberately made her the center of attention, which she was hoping to avoid entirely. Their laughter seemed to subside as an uncomfortable Annastaria stood next to Rolek with eyes on her. Rolek continued his loudness, however, “You guys think you’re a bunch of boozing shiners, you oughta get a load of this chick! I told her we were almost at Mennix, just one more hour and she couldn’t wait to start boozing.” He started to laugh, and Annastaria began to panic, “She didn’t even make it to town! Ask Gerdan and his boys, hahaha! We had to carry her drunk ass all the way in!” The others burst out in laughter, and some raised their mugs to Annastaria. “I tell you what!” Rolek said over their laughter, “You ain’t gonna meet another elf like this!”

The warmth that flustered in Annastaria’s cheeks was so intense, it sent waves of the same warmth through her entire body. She wanted to correct the record, but there was no way she could even yell louder than they all laughed. She tugged at Rolek’s shirt and said in his ear, “Can we please talk? Now?”

Rolek set his cigar down, and excused himself. Annastaria took him, as well as her crippled pride to the side, where it was somewhat quieter. “What in Eldreon and heaven are you doing?” she scolded.

“I’m doing you a favor, that’s what.” Rolek said, “Nice to see you up, by the way–and also, by the way,” he smirked as he gave her a thumbs up, “I dig the hair loose. You should let it fly more often.”

Annastaria looked at her hair for a moment, and realized she forgot to tie it back up; it was messy, but still wavy and resting around her neck. She pointed at him, “You are telling these fools that I am a drunken harlot? Why would you say such a thing?”

“First, I didn’t call you a harlot. Second, because people around here aren’t fond of elves. Apparently, this is an area that doesn’t care much for them or masters.”

“Why?”

“Don’t know,” Rolek answered, his tone more serious now, “but I’d like to find out. Either way, if they know you’re an outsider, like I know, that’s not going to bode well for you, and especially me. So, I’m selling you as a partying elf with no affiliations to either the zealots, or the high elves.”

Annastaria tried to lash out at him, but her mind caught the rebuke, and she stuttered. That made some sense, even though it was a lie, and she didn’t like it. Rolek put a hand on her shoulder and continued, “Trust me, pointy-ears, you don’t wanna be standing out in a place like this.”

“And what about you? I hope that you are not actually drinking yourself into oblivion.”

Rolek nearly chuckled, “Pfft! Relax, I’m fine. If you didn’t notice, all I had was one beer at my seat. I can take care of myself, and I know when I’m having too much. I’ve got a game to get back to, if we’re done here.”

“We are not done. What happened on the hill earlier?”

“Ask Oden, he’s probably worried sick about you. And don’t worry, the brat’s sleeping right now. Probably good for her, instead of being down here, anyways. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He walked off, but Annastaria still had a nagging question on her mind.

“Wait!” she said, stopping him. He turned and waited as she hesitated. “The artifact is still in my pack. I know you had a chance to take it… Why did you not?” she asked.

Rolek looked down, and seemed as though he was stumped for a moment. “We still got a duel to do, remember?” he said, smirking at her.

“And what about this deal about me giving up the artifact? You know I am still not going to do that.”

Again, Rolek paused, and Annastaria’s curiosity was aroused. “We’ll see.” he said, “Go check on wonder boy.” and he walked back to his table, leaving Annastaria in a pool of questions. The only thing she knew she had to do before she went to talk to Oden, was that she needed to tie her hair up, which she couldn’t do, given she had nothing on her to tie it with. So be it, she made her approach to Oden.

When she came to him, he knew she was coming not out of some heightened awareness level he did not have, but merely by the fact that the bartender saw her and pointed her out. He turned around and was surprised to see her coming up to him, but more glad than anything. 

“Erene!” he said, stepping off his seat and going for a hug. Before she could even rebuke him, he wrapped his arms around her. Yet somehow, she at the same time felt like she was sort of okay with it. She gave a small hug back to him.

“I was so worried about you.” he said as they let go, “What the hell happened up there?” 

Annastaria didn’t answer him immediately. “I was going to ask this of you…” she said, “So what happened on that cliff was real?”

“Yeah. We were looking at this place and you suddenly were having some kind of panic attack.”

“Is that when I collapsed?”

“Not right away. Rolek, Bella and I were calling and trying to get your attention, but it’s like you weren’t even there. Finally you started screaming, and that’s when Gerdan and his men showed up.”

“Gerdan?” Annastaria asked. The man who brought her the bucket of water in her room a few minutes ago?

“Yeah. He was out there with his group. Turns out they were the ones you were hearing the whole time, and the ones tracking us. They’re hunters and deputies here.” That made sense, as Annastaria pondered on it for a moment, and explained why Gerdan and these countrymen were interested in finding the three of them. But it didn’t explain everything just yet, such as why they were looking for them, and how they tracked them. 

Oden continued, “Rolek nearly blasted the dudes away; thank God he didn’t. You were freaking out on us, your eyes rolled back, and your breathing was out of control. We had to take Gerdan at his word that he could get us to safety.” Oden looked around, and as if to try to keep his next words between himself and her, “Erene… he was talking kind of funny. Not in the sense that he was bad, he’s a great guy, and he’s letting us stay here free… but he was very adamant on us not being out there at night.”

“He is not charging us for being here tonight?”

“No. He and his folks who run this place all agreed that we could stay the night–on the house. But I don’t think it was out of sheer courtesy.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like I said, he insisted. He wasn’t specific, but he almost didn’t give us a choice except to come with him to town to stay the night. Rolek and I weren’t in a position to argue. I thought you were dying right in front of us, and Gerdan was the only one who seemed to know what to do, so we brought you here.”

“And my things?”

“I carried your things into town for you. Don’t worry, I didn’t go through them, and no one insisted on going through them.” 

Annastaria was stunned. For a moment she didn’t believe it. Only one thing seemed to suffice. “Uhhmm… Thank you.” she said, stuttering at first

“Of course. It’s one thing to go through a guy’s stuff, it’s another to go through a lady’s.” Annastaria smiled, almost cynically. Oden read her face and responded with his own smile, “Hey, look, maybe where you come from, men don’t treat the ladies like that, but here, we do.” 

Annastaria didn’t want to acknowledge Oden’s charity beyond that. It felt too uncomfortable. She shouldn’t be getting this close. But in spite of all of this, and so far good news, there was a particularly nagging question eating away at her. “So…” she said slowly, and nervously, trying to formulate her words properly, “No one had to…” she began to gesture, “remove anything from me, other than my shoes and hair tie, did they?” She dreaded the question, and even more the answer that she no less needed.

Oden could see the concern in her face, and he nearly laughed. “Have no fear, Erene.” he said, “No removal of clothing was necessary except your body armor. You were burning up and they were trying to keep you cool. Gerdan checked on you every so often with cold water to keep your fever down, and Bella didn’t want to leave you. She eventually agreed to go get some sleep; poor kid was exhausted. But other than that, you were left alone.” 

Once again, Annastaria had only one thing to say. “Thank you… I do not know what else to say.” 

“Don’t thank just me.” Oden said, “Gerdan and his guys did most of the work. I just held your things and looked like a lost boy most of the time.” 

Annastaria gave a small giggle, and Oden reacted with a chuckle himself. It was obvious who was the next person to talk to at this point, which was Gerdan, who just happened to appear from behind the bar to help customers. He and Annastaria made eye contact, and she could see him more clearly in the light coming from the chandelier above. He was a charming man, she had to admit, but only in her mind. “So how long have I been asleep?” she asked Oden.

“About three and a half hours.” Gerdan answered, drawing both her and Oden’s attention. He leaned on the counter to talk to them with a welcoming expression. Annastaria looked around and approached him, accompanied by Oden. “You look like you need a drink.” Gerdan joked. She gave a small smirk, but had serious questions on her mind. 

“That is the last thing I need right now.” she answered.

“Of course. Maybe you need answers, first.”

Annastaria looked at him quietly, but affirmatively. He looked at both of them, and his smile faded. “Follow me.” he said.

The two of them did so as Gerdan led them upstairs and to a balcony view where they could see the rest of the main road that went progressively downhill to the rest of the town, which from what Annastaria could see, seemed to be going west. They could still hear the constant socializing downstairs in the main floor, but now with the cool calm of the night sky and crickets in the distance. “If I have been sleeping that long,” said Annastaria, “then it must be very late.” 

Gerdan shrugged casually as he leaned on the wooden railing of the balcony edge and said, “Depends on when you define bedtime. For most of the guys in here, bedtime is still a long way off.”

“Where I am from, bedtime was at least an hour ago.”

“A lot of people around here would like to know where you’re from.”

Annastaria was silent for a few seconds to think about why that was. Maybe that was why people were staring at her. “Why would they want to know where I am from?” she asked. 

Gerdan was humored by the question, as if it was a silly one to ask. “Is it not obvious?” he said, “We don’t get a lot of elves through here for one, and elves always mean magic.”

“Surely there must be more.” said Rolek, who startled them as he appeared from where they came from, “Don’t think you guys can have a little meeting about what the hell happened a few hours ago without me… Oenkev is no stranger to magic in the world. Why is a little town south of Cymroyl different?”

Gerdan looked at each of them, as if to hesitate, or feel the pressure of Rolek’s probing. Finally he spoke, “Because magic has, for a good while now, been a cause for great fear and unease in these parts… Ever since the events that happened in the past decade, magic has been unwelcomed. And especially with the Febian uprisings taking place, the influence of anti-magic ideals is making its way to these parts.”

Annastaria felt as though she sprang fully awake then. Magic? Estranged in this place? Gerdan knew something; he may be her key to understanding the readings her people found in this place. Nevertheless, she calculated in her mind how to get the information out of him, careful not to give anyone any impression about her intentions here.

“What kind of incident happened a decade ago?” Rolek probed further.

Gerdan took a deep breath, as if to be tired of explaining the story. “It involved dark magic here in the forests.” he said, “This part of the countryside was once very popular until we had a necromancy incident.” Annastaria and Oden were almost stunned at such news.

“Seriously?” said Oden, “Can that really happen?”

“Depends on who you ask.” Gerdan answered.

“What’s that mean?” Rolek asked.

“It means that to some people, it was necromancy, and to others, it was just sick human sacrifice in the name of magic. But no one knows for certain.”

“Why would such an incident not be found in the news?”

“Honesty? Because people just wanted to forget about it. No one wanted it to be true, so they just stopped talking about it. But they also stopped coming to these parts. Even the authorities are reluctant to come out here. So, we watch our home ourselves.” Gerdan looked at Annastaria and said, “And that’s why we were following you.”

“You must have some way of tracking us, then.” she answered, “And I believe you may have magic-detecting equipment on you.”

“We do, actually. Earlier this morning we had gotten readings in the east. So, I took a group to check it out. We found little, except a pair of campsites that were fresh. We had begun to pick up magic activity to the north, but as the day ended, we got readings far too close to home, and so we rushed back. That’s when we stumbled upon you.”

“The campsite was us, for sure.” Oden affirmed, “But we didn’t use any magic, except for Erene using some restoration on a wound she had gotten.”

“Where did you do this?” Gerdan asked them both.

“By the fallen statue, where you found our campsite.” answered Annastaria.

“And you are sure that you did not use more magic after that?”

“Yes… Why?”

Gerdan looked at all three of them as a creeping silence rose among them. “If we didn’t use magic anytime after that,” Rolek said, “and you’re picking stuff up in the north, and then right here near town… who the hell did that then?”

Again, Gerdan was silent. It was like he was shut up by a spirit of silence somehow. He hesitated to speak what they all knew was on his mind. “You know something, Gerdan.” Rolek pressed, “Something not right about this place.”

“Does it might have something to do with the necromancy you spoke about?” Annastaria asked.

Gerdan didn’t expect the question, but gave a few seconds to think, looking out to the town below as he did and said, “I consider myself an honest skeptic. We’ve had some weird things go on in the woods here over the past few years, but nothing that makes me think we have a necromancy problem. I’ve only actually lived here for about five years, far later than what allegedly happened. But, I’m open to the possibility. It isn’t like it’s never happened before.” A moment of silence followed Gerdan finishing his statement. He decided it was an opportunity to ask his own question to Annastaria, “So what exactly happened on that cliff?” She looked at him, almost wanting to glare. “I have to ask,” Gerdan said, “it’s part of my job as a deputy here. Plus, people here know you’re an elf, and elves are always magic-capable, and that in these parts doesn’t bode well with the locals. If you want to clear your name, be straight with me and I’ll make sure everyone else knows.”

Annastaria looked to Oden for a second, to see what his body language was saying. It seemed like he himself was waiting to see what she would do. Would she be up front? Oden certainly wanted to know what happened. She looked back at Gerdan and began, 

“I cannot explain it fully. Everything was going well until… until I heard a loud, piercing sound. It was as if a needle in the form of sound was being pressed into my ears. It became so intense that I could not hear, nor focus on anything around me. I was becoming lost. It was not like anything I had ever experienced before.” Her eyes drifted off, recalling all that happened, “I cannot tell when I went unconscious or not, only that suddenly I was not where I was. I was before a great city… Then the sky in the west seemed to explode in a great blaze of fire that consumed the whole land… It was like the sun itself had come crashing down into Eldreon and utterly consuming everything. The strangest thing of all was that it was as if this great fire… it was as if it was not simply an explosion, but something that was alive, had a mind to it, and it spoke. It was like it had a malice; not like an ordinary flame that consumed by its own nature. It consumed out of hatred… And it spoke. A great chant of some kind came from it, a chant I began to hear after the strange voices whispered to me.”

“What voices?” Gerdan asked, intensely interested in Annastaria’s story.

“I cannot say for sure. Along with you and your men, I heard a voice whisper to me this morning… It was saying something with… numbers, and direction. If I recall, it was saying… three in east, two in west. It was originally what caught my attention. I heard it in the midst of your movement. It is what I heard just before I was being overwhelmed a few hours ago by… gods know what. But I could not make words, not until the great flame came upon me.”

“What did it say?”

Annastaria gave what seemed to be a long, suspenseful pause before she finally gave up the words, “‘You are mine. I am One.’ It spoke in Nagush, an ancient, elvish language.”

“And you know this language?” Gerdan asked, his eyes narrowing. 

Annastaria felt her heart pulsate, realizing she just gave away information she was not supposed to. She stuttered to try and explain, “A little… I learned some of it as I grew up… I had many books in my childhood.” Gerdan stood silent, but his expression hardly changed. 

“So what do you suppose this voice meant with those words?” he asked.

Annastaria sighed, “I do not know. None of it makes sense, and as far as I can tell… it was but a nightmare.”

“From the way you describe the dream, it doesn’t seem like it was just a nightmare.”

Annastaria went silent. She wanted to downplay it, but she couldn’t find a way to argue against what Gerdan said. He was right, it didn’t seem like a meaningless and irrational dream. The voice she heard in the dream was the one she heard that morning while she was conscious and clearly awake. The only difference was the voice whispered and was so unintelligible the first time. 

Gerdan wasn’t sure what to make of any of this. He had to tell the people something, but he felt like while this helped him understand more about this elvish girl and her friends, it still managed to provoke more questions, questions he wasn’t sure how to approach. There seemed only one simple, cut and dry question to ask. 

“So…” he began, “I guess my next question is, are you a danger to the people here?”

Annastaria almost wanted to sarcastically ask if that was a trick question, but she was not in the mood to behave in that way. “No,” she said, “I am not. My friends and I are merely passing through. We needed to find a place to stay the evening… We promise to leave by morning.” The last line was uttered hesitatingly. She couldn’t leave just yet. There was something here that she knew she needed to find. Her people identified a spike in dark magic in this place somewhere; she heard voices in the woods, and nearly died by the sheer power of a vision that ravaged her mind. If Gerdan was as vigilant as he was giving himself to be, he had to know more.

“That settles it then. You’re free to stay here for the evening.”

“Why are you not charging us to stay?”

“You were in grave need. That’s not something I can exploit for money. And around here, while I’m not a superstitious man, I’m not an ignorant person, either. We don’t like leaving people out here in the dark at night… In the morning, I’ll personally see you all on the right track through the woods. Your friend Oden here says you guys are looking to go west, to Stouarch. I can help get you in the right direction. You’re better off not staying in these woods after night. Trust me.” 

Annastaria trusted him more than he knew. But there was little else for her to say at this point, except, “Thank you, Gerdan… You have been far too gracious to us.”

“You can thank me by enjoying the rest of your evening.” he replied with a half-committed smile, “Go downstairs, have a few drinks, talk to your friends, make new friends. We’re all friends here, and if I tell them you guys are okay, they’ll believe me.” 

Annastaria gave a smirk to Gerdan’s offer, “I greatly appreciate it, Gerdan… But I think I would best have a bath.”

“We can help with that. Talk to Jennice, she will help you get a bath or shower ready.” Gerdan then took his leave, allowing the three of them to talk among each other.

Rolek waited until he was gone, back into the inn and they were alone before he spoke. “So,” he began, quietly, “what do you guys think?”

Oden and Annastaria looked at each other, and had to refresh their minds. “I think he’s a good guy.” Oden replied, “Helped us out when we need it.”

“Obviously. I’m talking about what he was saying to us.” Rolek looked at Annastaria, and she knew that he was the only one who knew who she really was, and she would surely know something. “What about you, Erene?” he asked, “What do you think?” She didn’t answer him. “You didn’t tell us the whispers were in Nagush.” he added.

“I did not say because…” she began, hesitating, “I did not know if they were true or not. I was greatly confused.”

“Well, we all are right now. Something’s not right about this place.”

“Are you some kind of detective now?” Oden asked.

“I’m a guy who likes to know what he’s walking into, and I have a hunch.”

“Like what?”

“I told you guys I came through this region once. I’ve never been to Mennix before, but I did hear about what Gerdan was talking about. Supposedly, as the legends say, spirits came out of what people claim is a graveyard at the bottom of Galssan Lake.”

“That sounds creepy.” Oden said, “And hard to believe.”

“I’m not asking you to believe it–I sure as hell don’t. But whatever’s going on here, it’s enough to bubble up some urban legends. And that guy Gerdan seems like a serious dude. If someone like him and his gang of ‘deputies’ are this paranoid of magic in their area, something has to be going on. Something’s got ‘em spooked, and you guys saw the reluctance to speak in his eyes.” Rolek looked at Annastaria then, “And you heard voices in the woods. How often does that happen?”

She looked at him and almost froze. “It never has.” she answered.

“Well look,” Oden said, “I’m getting creeped out here, and I’d rather us have just one stinking night of relaxation, which we were doing real well with for a while. Let’s end the night on a high note, shall we? We’re gone in the morning anyway, so it’s not our problem.”

Rolek didn’t say anything, and Annastaria was perplexed by his interest in the entire thing. His bullying demeanor seemed almost entirely nonexistent. But she agreed with Oden at this point. All she wanted to do was to forget about this and go to bed. But morning would come, and she had to find a way to learn more before she left.